Prisoners' Rights
Jensen v. Thornell
UPDATE: In a thorough and sweeping injunction issued on April 7, 2023, U.S. District Judge Roslyn O. Silver is requiring the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation, and Reentry (“ADCRR”) to make “substantial” changes to staffing and conditions so that medical care and mental healthcare at Arizona prisons comes up to constitutional standards.
Status: Closed (Judgment)
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Sep 2022
Alex A. v. Edwards
The ACLU National Prison Project and partner civil rights attorneys filed a federal class-action lawsuit to prevent the transfer of children in the custody of Louisiana's Office of Juvenile Justice to the Louisiana State Penitentiary, commonly known as Angola Prison.
Status: Ongoing
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Texas
Jul 2021
Sanchez et al v. Dallas County Sheriff et al
Decarceration has always been an emergency, a life and death proposition, but COVID-19 makes this effort intensely urgent. The ACLU has been working with our partners to litigate for the rights of those who are incarcerated and cannot protect themselves because of the policies of the institutions in which they are jailed.
Status: Ongoing
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Mississippi
Mar 2017
Dockery v. Hall
The ACLU, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), the Law Offices of Elizabeth Alexander, and the law firm of Covington & Burling LLP, filed a petition for class certification and expert reports for a federal lawsuit on behalf of prisoners at the East Mississippi Correctional Facility (EMCF). The lawsuit, which was filed in May 2013, describes the for-profit prison as hyper-violent, grotesquely filthy and dangerous. EMCF is operated "in a perpetual state of crisis" where prisoners are at "grave risk of death and loss of limbs." The facility, located in Meridian, Mississippi, is supposed to provide intensive treatment to the state's prisoners with serious psychiatric disabilities, many of whom are locked down in long-term solitary confinement.
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All Cases
61 Prisoners' Rights Cases
Apr 2020
McMenamin V. Souza
On April 1, 2020, the ACLU National Prison Project, ACLU Immigrants’ Rights Project, and ACLU of Massachusetts, Immigrants’ Rights and Human Trafficking Program Boston University School of Law, Demissie & Church, and Graves & Doyle filed McMenamin v. Souza et al in the District of Massachusetts on behalf of immigrants detained at the Bristol County House of Correction.
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Prisoners' Rights
McMenamin V. Souza
On April 1, 2020, the ACLU National Prison Project, ACLU Immigrants’ Rights Project, and ACLU of Massachusetts, Immigrants’ Rights and Human Trafficking Program Boston University School of Law, Demissie & Church, and Graves & Doyle filed McMenamin v. Souza et al in the District of Massachusetts on behalf of immigrants detained at the Bristol County House of Correction.
Apr 2020
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Apr 2020
Zelaya V. Archambeault
On April 3, 2020, the ACLU National Prison Project, ACLU Immigrants’ Rights Project, ACLU of San Diego & Imperial Counties, and the ACLU Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender & HIV Project filed Zelaya et al v. Archambeault et al in the Southern District of California on behalf of immigrants detained at the Otay Mesa Detention Center and Imperial Regional Detention Facility in California.
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Prisoners' Rights
Zelaya V. Archambeault
On April 3, 2020, the ACLU National Prison Project, ACLU Immigrants’ Rights Project, ACLU of San Diego & Imperial Counties, and the ACLU Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender & HIV Project filed Zelaya et al v. Archambeault et al in the Southern District of California on behalf of immigrants detained at the Otay Mesa Detention Center and Imperial Regional Detention Facility in California.
Apr 2020
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Apr 2020
Albino-Martinez V. Adducci
On April 7, 2020, the ACLU National Prison Project, ACLU Immigrants’ Rights Project, and ACLU of Michigan filed Albino-Martinez et al v. Adducci et al in the Eastern District of Michigan on behalf of immigrants detained at the Monroe County Jail and the St. Clair County Jail in Michigan.
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Prisoners' Rights
Albino-Martinez V. Adducci
On April 7, 2020, the ACLU National Prison Project, ACLU Immigrants’ Rights Project, and ACLU of Michigan filed Albino-Martinez et al v. Adducci et al in the Eastern District of Michigan on behalf of immigrants detained at the Monroe County Jail and the St. Clair County Jail in Michigan.
Apr 2020
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Apr 2020
Malam v. Adducci
On April 5, 2020, the ACLU National Prison Project, ACLU Immigrants’ Rights Project, and ACLU of Michigan filed Malam v. Adducci et al in the Eastern District of Michigan on behalf of immigrants detained at the Calhoun County Correctional Center.
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Prisoners' Rights
Malam v. Adducci
On April 5, 2020, the ACLU National Prison Project, ACLU Immigrants’ Rights Project, and ACLU of Michigan filed Malam v. Adducci et al in the Eastern District of Michigan on behalf of immigrants detained at the Calhoun County Correctional Center.
Apr 2020
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